The Chains That Bind Me
by tinylexie
Summary: Lucius obeys Voldemort because he doesn't want to risk harm coming to Narcissa or Draco, but what happens when those chains are broken? AU.
1. The Chains Are There

Lucius looked at Narcissa with pure adoration. Finally, they were husband and wife. Finally, they were alone for the night. All the formal ceremonies and all the proper parties were finally over. Now it could be just the two of them.

"I have some wonderful plans for tonight," Lucius smiled at his wife as he began to undress her.

"You have me intrigued," Narcissa smiled back as she began to undress him as well.

Lucius suddenly felt the Mark on his left arm burning. "Not tonight," he hissed.

"You better go," Narcissa said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.

"But it's _our_ wedding night," Lucius growled. "Surely the Dark Lord will be able to understand that. No, Narcissa, I'm staying here with _you_ tonight."

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me," Narcissa breathed. "The Dark Lord will be angry if you don't go."

"Right now," Lucius growled, "I could care less."

* * *

Lucius and Narcissa were eating breakfast the next day when the Dark Lord suddenly entered the room.

Lucius and Narcissa stood up immediately, with Lucius placing himself in front of his wife.

"My Lord," the blond-haired wizard greeted respectfully.

"Where were you last night, Lucius?" the Dark Lord hissed angrily.

"I'm sorry, my Lord," Lucius replied, "but I wasn't able to get away."

"Don't lie to me, Lucius," the Dark Lord said. "I know exactly where you were last night. Surely your wife understands that your servitude to me takes precedence over everything else."

Narcissa nodded her head. Lucius took her hand and gently squeezed it.

"Is your wife going to continue to be a hindrance?" the Dark Lord asked. "Do you care more about her than doing your duty?" The Dark Lord began to go for his wand.

Lucius could feel Narcissa trembling behind him.

"It wasn't Narcissa's fault, my Lord," Lucius spoke quickly and with desperation in his voice. "_She_ told me to leave and to go to you. _I_ was the one who didn't want to do my duty last night, not her."

The Dark Lord's hand drifted away from his wand. "That's good to hear, Lucius," he smiled unpleasantly. "It really would be a shame if your wife ever again got in the way of your priorities."

"Of course, my Lord," Lucius breathed. "This will never happen again."

* * *

Lucius was at the Ministry when the ring on his finger burned, indicating that Narcissa was sending him a message.

The blond-haired wizard looked down at the ring and read the words, _It's Draco. He's really sick. I've already given him some potions, but he's not looking any better. I'm really worried about him._

Lucius quickly tapped his wand to his ring to send a message back to his wife:

_Take him to St. Mungo's. I'm on my way there._

Lucius's Mark burned at that moment.

The blond-haired wizard sighed in both anger and desperation. He really wanted to be with his wife and son, especially with Draco (who was only about three months old) being sick. However, he also didn't want to risk angering the Dark Lord. His life, after all, wasn't the only life he had to worry about if the Dark Lord became angry.

Lucius reluctantly tapped his wand to his ring.

_I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm currently needed elsewhere._

Narcissa would know what he meant by those words.

A few moments passed. Then, Narcissa sent him a message back:

_You better go to him. I don't want any harm to come to you because of us._

_I'm so sorry,_ Lucius messaged back.

_It's fine,_ Narcissa returned. _I understand. Now go to him. I'm sure that Draco will be just fine. It's probably just something minor. You know how I get sometimes when it comes to him. I'm always worrying about nothing._

Lucius sighed to himself. He still believed in blood purity, but sometimes he wondered if it was truly worth all the sacrifices that he had to make. Was it truly worth abandoning his wife and his son in their time of need?

Sometimes Lucius really didn't know who he hated the most: the Muggles, the Mudbloods, the Muggle-lovers, the war, the Dark Lord.

Or himself.


	2. The Chains Are Broken

Lucius and Narcissa were holding each other as they sat on their bed. They weren't saying anything. What was there to say? They were prisoners in their own manor. They were at the Dark Lord's mercy, along with their son. The Dark Lord could decide to kill them or Draco at any moment. And the Dark Lord was even angrier with them since Harry Potter and his friends had escaped from the manor. What was there to say to each other that they had not already been said? No, as they often did whenever they were going through a tough time, Lucius and Narcissa were finding comfort from just being in each other's company.

The doors leading to their bedroom were suddenly flung open. The Dark Lord entered, dragging a completely terrified Draco along with him.

Lucius and Narcissa immediately sat up straighter, each trying not to let their panic show at the sight of their beloved son so close to the Dark Lord.

"Explain to me again, Lucius," the Dark Lord hissed, "how exactly did Potter and his friends escape?"

"It was Bellatrix, my Lord," Lucius said quickly. "I was about to summon you when she noticed the sword."

"Enough, Lucius," the Dark Lord snapped. "I have also talked with Bellatrix about this. She told me that before the sword even came up, _you_ stopped her from summoning me because _you_ wanted to be the one to do it."

Lucius froze.

"Oh, my poor Lucius," the Dark said in a soft, almost gentle voice, "so eager to regain my favor, so eager to receive the credit for doing something _right_ for a change. I have punished you time after time for your failures, yet you continue to disappoint me. What will it take, Lucius, for you to finally learn your lesson?"

The Dark Lord looked at Draco, who was trembling with fear. The Dark Lord then looked at Narcissa, who managed to keep her composure much better than her son.

Lucius immediately knew what the Dark Lord intended to do. The Dark intended to make Narcissa and Draco suffer the consequences of Lucius's mistakes.

Draco, if possible, trembled even more. Narcissa, if possible, seemed to sit up even straighter, her face barely betraying any emotion. Her hand, however, took Lucius's hand and gently squeezed it.

"My Lord, please, don't," Lucius begged. "Allow me to leave, and I will find Potter for you. I will bring him to you. My Lord, please, give me this one last chance. Please."

"A touching gesture, Lucius," the Dark Lord sneered, "but I'm afraid I'm not going to take you up on your offer. You couldn't even bring Potter to me when he was in your own house. How are you going to possibly bring him to me when he is somewhere out there?"

Draco had stopped trembling, but the look of terror on his face continued to grow. Narcissa still appeared to be almost emotionless, but her grip on Lucius's hand became stronger. Lucius couldn't bring himself to meet the eyes of either his wife or his son.

"I allowed my pride to get the best of me when Potter was here, my Lord," Lucius said desperately. "I won't make that mistake again."

The Dark Lord tilted his head, as if considering Lucius's words. Then, he threw Draco towards his father and his mother. Lucius reached out his arm to steady Draco before helping his son to sit on the bed beside him. Lucius then gently squeezed his son's hand. Draco looked at both his parents for a moment. Then, his eyes drifted towards the Dark Lord for an even lesser amount of time before they finally settled on the floor.

"Perhaps I will give you another chance to prove yourself, Lucius," the Dark Lord smiled.

Lucius's body immediately relaxed in relief. He felt Narcissa's and Draco's bodies do the same.

The Dark Lord suddenly drew his wand and pointed it first at Draco, then at Narcissa. A jet of green light shot out of his wand both times.

Lucius, who was still linked to both his wife's and his son's hands, felt them go limp. For a moment, he was completely stunned, his mind not yet able to comprehend what had just happened. He then slowly looked at both Narcissa and Draco. Their legs were still hanging down from the bed, but their upper bodies were sprawled across it. Their eyes were lifeless and empty.

Lucius had seen enough deaths and had caused enough deaths to know that Narcissa and Draco were dead.

His wife. His son. Both dead. Just like that. Dead. The both of them.

Dead. Narcissa. Draco. Dead.

Roaring with uncontrollable anger, Lucius lunged at the Dark Lord, reaching for his throat.

The Dark Lord calmly pointed his wand at Lucius, and the next moment the blond wizard found himself pinned down on the floor. Lucius tried to reach for the Dark Lord, but an unseen force kept him from making any movements.

"Such spirit, Lucius," the Dark Lord laughed. "Who would have ever thought that you had it inside you? I can't help but wonder, though, where was this spirit when it could have been of some real use?"

The Dark Lord suddenly drew a knife and tossed it so that it landed beside the immobilized Lucius. "See, Lucius, I am not without mercy. When you are ready to join your wife and your son, you have my permission to do so." With that, the Dark Lord turned and left the room, closing and locking the doors behind him. Only then was Lucius able to move.

Trembling, Lucius got to his feet. He slowly walked over to the bed, where Narcissa and Draco laid dead. He touched both their faces with pure reverence.

Then, Lucius did something he had never done before in his life. He cried.

Lucius fell down to his knees, his body shaking with uncontrollable grief. His eyes then landed on the knife that the Dark Lord had left for him.

For a moment, Lucius considered taking the knife and using it to end his life. But then he looked at Narcissa and Draco. They had died because of _him_. They had died because the Dark Lord had wanted to torture _him_ in the worse way possible.

It was _him_ the Dark Lord should have killed, not them.

But the Dark Lord had wanted _him_ to be the one to suffer. Narcissa and Draco had meant nothing to the Dark Lord.

But they had meant everything to Lucius, and they deserved justice.

Lucius continued to sob as he continued to tremble with both grief and anger.

But there was one emotion that Lucius was not feeling, one emotion that Lucius would never again feel.

Fear. There was no more fear.

Lucius's chains had been broken.


	3. The Chains Are Gone

**Author's Note****: This chapter features a brutal murder towards the end. Nothing too graphic, but I still wanted to give that warning to readers. Also, there is a lot of insanity in this chapter. Basically, this chapter is nothing but insanity. Lucius isn't meant to make sense.  
**

Lucius quickly lost track of the number of days he was locked inside his bedroom with the dead bodies of his wife and his son. The Dark Lord had made a flap in one of the doors, and food and water were shoved through that flap once a day. But other than that, Lucius's only human contact was with his dead Narcissa and his dead Draco.

Lucius had a window in his and Narcissa's bedroom through which he could watch the days and the nights pass, and he had the once a day delivery of food and water.

But Lucius had still lost track of time. Time had quickly become meaningless to him.

As meaningless as the knife that the Dark Lord had given him.

The knife lay forgotten on the floor, on the exact spot where the Dark Lord had tossed it on the day that he had murdered Narcissa and Draco.

Or had it been at night when they had died? Lucius really wasn't sure. Not that it really mattered.

Narcissa and Draco were dead, but the awful smell coming from their rotting corpses on the bed didn't seem to affect Lucius. It wasn't as if he couldn't open the window, after all.

And the smell of death didn't stop Lucius from talking with his wife and his son.

"We should redecorate our bedroom, Narcissa. I know you've been wanting to do that for a while."

"Have you been studying for your N.E.W.T.s, Draco? They will determine your future, so you really need to do well on them."

"I really need your opinion on what we are going to do with our bedroom, Narcissa. I don't want to make any changes until I know that you're okay with them."

"We haven't had much time to talk about what you want to do as a career, Draco. So, what do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

"If you're fine with our bedroom the way that it is right now, then that's fine with me. To be honest, I really don't like redecorating."

"You don't know what you want to do with your life? Well, what classes are you taking?"

"Do we really have to move the bed over there, Narcissa? I like it where it is at now."

"No, Draco, I don't know where you left your broomstick. Have you tried using a Summoning Charm? You're very good at charms, so it should be no problem for you."

"If you really want to move the bed, that's fine with me. Maybe it would look better over there."

"You summoned your broomstick. I'm so proud of you. But please, stop losing your things."

"What do you want to move next, Narcissa?"

"Based on the classes that you are taking, you have several different career options to choose from. See, Draco, the future isn't going to be as bad as you were making it out to be."

* * *

One night, the Dark Lord unlocked the doors and walked into the Malfoy bedroom, but Lucius didn't seem to notice him. To the Dark Lord's shock and surprise, Lucius was moving the furniture around.

"What are you doing, Lucius?" the Dark Lord breathed.

"Oh, hello," Lucius said cheerfully, waving his hand in greeting. "I hope you haven't been standing there for too long. I'm sorry I didn't notice you sooner. Would you like something to drink? What about something to eat?"

"Why are you moving your furniture, Lucius?"

"Narcissa thinks the bedroom will look better this way. It's important to keep the wife happy, you see. Please don't tell her I said that. I really do love her. But this would go a lot quicker if I had my wand. Do you by any chance know where I placed my wand? I always get on Draco's case for losing his things, and now I'm doing the same thing. I guess he gets that bad habit from him. I mean, he most definitely doesn't get it from his mother. Narcissa's perfect, you see."

The Dark Lord walked over to Lucius and grabbed the blond wizard by the throat. Lucius looked at the Dark Lord in recognition, but otherwise his eyes did not reflect anything.

"Just when I thought you couldn't fall any further," the Dark Lord sneered, "you do exactly that. At least you have finally done something right. What a pity, though, that the _only_ thing you can do right is become more and more _pathetic_ with each passing day." He released his hold on Lucius's throat, who acted as if nothing had happened.

"I must admit, however," the Dark Lord spoke, "I am surprised you haven't killed yourself yet. I truly did not think you would last this long. Perhaps you have finally learned your lesson."

"What do you require of me, my Lord?" Lucius asked in an emotionless voice. "How can I be of service?"

"We are going to Hogwarts tonight, Lucius," the Dark Lord said, "and if you don't disappoint me too much, perhaps I'll give you a wand."

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius replied, his voice completely void of expression.

The Dark Lord turned to leave. Lucius made to follow him. Then, the blond wizard noticed the knife on the floor. Almost in a daze, Lucius grabbed the knife and hid it in his robes.

* * *

Lucius stayed with the Dark Lord until he was ordered to go find Severus.

"The Dark Lord wants to see you," Lucius said simply when he had found the man in question.

"Lucius," Severus gasped, "I didn't know you were going to be here tonight."

"Narcissa and Draco are dead," Lucius said matter-of-factly.

Severus's mouth dropped in shock.

"The Dark Lord wants to see you," Lucius repeated. "You should go to him. You know how angry he gets when he isn't obeyed."

Severus, his face full of shock and disbelief, did as Lucius commanded. He was no longer acting just for Lily. He was now acting for Narcissa and Draco as well.

And he was also acting for Lucius.

* * *

Lucius did not follow Severus. The Dark Lord had not ordered him to return after completing his task. No, Lucius wanted to see how the battle was going.

He had to make sure that Draco was all right. Narcissa was beside her with worry.

"Don't worry, Narcissa," Lucius said. "We'll find Draco."

* * *

There were so many dead bodies. Lucius finally spotted two bodies that were familiar to him. The werewolf, Remus Lupin. He had been at the Department of Mysteries. Along with the Auror whose hand he was holding. It had to be his wife. It had to be Andromeda's daughter.

She had been his niece, Lucius suddenly realized. And now she was dead.

"Hello, niece," Lucius said. "How are you doing? Probably not that good, considering that you're dead. That's very unfortunate. You are family, after all. And hello Lupin. I guess you're my nephew-in-law, or something like that. Oh, forgive me, you _were_ my nephew-in-law. You're dead too. I'm so sorry. Death is a horrible thing, isn't it?

"I would like to stay and talk, but we really have to find Draco. Yes, Narcissa, we're going now. I just thought you would like you say 'hello' to your family here. My apologies, niece, nephew-in-law. I promise we will talk more later. But we really need to find Draco."

With that, Lucius began again his search for Draco. He paused, though, when he spotted the dead body of a red-haired young man.

"You must be one of Arthur Weasley's children," Lucius said conversationally. "Forgive me, but I don't know your name. Does your father know that you are dead yet? Well, at least he has your other brothers. And that little sister of yours. I'm the one who gave her that diary, you know. Will you tell her that I'm very sorry about that? I really don't like hurting children, you see. I mean, I have a child of my own and all that.

"Your father is very fortunate that he has more than one child. Just imagine if _you_ had been his only child. If that had been the case, he would no longer have any children. And that would have been truly sad. I lost _my_ only child, you see. His name was Draco. Did you know him? He really was a good son. I wish I had told him that more often. When you see him, will you tell him that his father loved him? Thank you so much.

"I'm sorry that you're dead. I don't like your father, but you're still a child. I am ashamed to admit that there was a time when I would have gladly wished this fate upon Arthur, for him to lose a child. But I don't feel that way anymore. Not since I lost Draco. It is so painful to lose a child. And even worse, I lost my wife as well. I'm all alone in the world.

"I wonder if any of your other siblings have died as well. If they did, at least you wouldn't be alone. Not that I want any of them to die, of course. I just don't want you to be alone. It gets very lonely when you're alone. Okay, Narcissa. We can go now. We have to go now, Weasley boy. We have to go find Draco. Perhaps I'll talk to you more later. I'll keep an eye out for your father. He needs to know that you're dead. _I_ would want to know if _my_ child was dead."

* * *

At one point Lucius thought he felt his Mark burn, but he couldn't be sure. Besides, he really needed to find Draco. He would explain it to the Dark Lord later.

* * *

Lucius made his way into the Great Hall with his wife and his son. He watched as Arthur Weasley's wife killed Bellatrix.

Lucius merely blinked as the Dark Lord screamed in anger at Bellatrix's fall. Lucius, though, did pay attention to the conversation between Potter and the Dark Lord.

So, the Dark Lord had thought that he had finally killed Potter. He had even used the Cruciatus Curse to confirm this. And the boy had not reacted at all? The boy must be crazy, not to react to the Cruciatus Curse. That just wasn't normal.

So, there were no more Horcruxes. The Dark Lord was now mortal. The Dark Lord could now die.

Oh, apparently Severus was now dead as well.

"It looks like everyone is dying tonight," Lucius remarked to Narcissa and Draco. "I'm so glad that you two are all right."

Oh, what was this? Potter was now the Master of the Elder Wand. Of course it would have to be Potter.

"You're right, Draco, that Potter boy has to be the best at everything. He even has to have the best wand. And he's always stealing _your_ glory. He just couldn't deal with _you_ being the Master of the Elder Wand. Oh, no, he just _had_ to take that from you. No wonder you don't like him. I don't think I would like him either."

Lucius watched as the Dark Lord fled from the Great Hall.

"I guess he was only capable of dueling when he was immortal," Lucius said casually. "It must be so painful, to be mortal. I better go check on him. No doubt he's angry, and he needs someone to take his anger out on. It's a good thing he has _me_, his faithful little Lucius. You two wait here. You're safe now."

* * *

Lucius finally caught up with the Dark Lord in the Forbidden Forest.

"My Lord," Lucius greeted happily.

The Dark Lord spun around so quickly that he almost tripped over his robes. Seeing that it was only Lucius, he lowered his wand.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, my Lord," Lucius said. "I know that you're probably angry. I would be angry too if I was suddenly mortal. But never fear. I'm here now. I'm here to take your anger. I'm your faithful little Lucius."

"No, Lucius," the Dark Lord said, "you're just crazy. You are of no more use to me." The Dark Lord pointed his wand at Lucius. Out of some forgotten instinct, Lucius dodged the curse.

The Dark Lord howled in anger.

"Tonight has been a really bad night for you," Lucius remarked conversationally. Then, he suddenly froze. There were two dead bodies behind the Dark Lord.

Narcissa and Draco.

"No," Lucius breathed. "They were alive when I last saw them. How can they be dead?"

"What are you talking about, Lucius?"

"Narcissa. Draco. They're dead."

"They've been dead for a while, Lucius."

Lucius looked at the Dark Lord for a long moment. Then, he suddenly had a moment of clarity.

"You killed them," Lucius hissed, his body shaking with uncontrollable anger. "You killed them."

Lucius lunged at the Dark Lord, who quickly pointed his wand at him. Lucius, however, managed to dodge all of his curses.

The Dark Lord had to pay for killing Narcissa and Draco.

As Lucius drew nearer to the Dark Lord, he drew the knife. The same knife that the Dark Lord had given _him_, so that he could kill himself. If Lucius had not been so angry, he would have laughed at the irony.

Lucius reached out with his hand and grabbed the Dark Lord's throat. Then, Lucius took the knife and began to stab the other man. Everywhere. Over and over again.

The Dark Lord cried out in pain. "Lucius, please," he gasped.

The Dark Lord's pleas enraged Lucius even more. How dare he ask for mercy. How dare he ask for mercy after he had shown none to Narcissa and Draco.

Lucius did not know for how long he stabbed the Dark Lord, but he eventually ran out of energy and strength. Only then did he finally collapse to the ground, beside the bloody, motionless body of the Dark Lord.

The bloody knife hung limply from Lucius's hand.

"My Lord," Lucius breathed, "I think I just killed you." Lucius paused for a moment. "I just killed the Dark Lord. What should I do? Narcissa, what should I do? I just killed the Dark Lord."

Trembling, Lucius cradled the Dark Lord's head in his lap, just like Narcissa had done with Draco when he had been little.

"I can see that you're not feeling well, my Lord," Lucius said. "But don't worry. Your faithful little Lucius is here to make you all better. Let me sing a lullaby to you. Narcissa used to sing to Draco when he was ill. I still remember the lyrics. It's a beautiful lullaby, my Lord. I think you will like it. At least I hope you will like it. After all, I live to serve you, my Lord."

And Lucius, still cradling the Dark Lord's head as if he was a small child, began to sing a lullaby that bought back memories of better times, of happier times.

Of times when Narcissa and Draco had still been alive.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah, this was nothing but craziness. Why did I write this? Because for some strange reason, I just really wanted to write a very crazy Lucius. Don't forget, though, he was locked in his room with the rotting corpses of his dead wife and son for quite some time. Also, going insane was Lucius's way of dealing with his pain and agony over Narcissa's and Draco's murders. Basically, Lucius alternated from realizing that Narcissa and Draco had been murdered by Voldemort to him being in his fantasy world where Narcissa and Draco were alive and well. Yeah, Lucius just completely lost his mind. As for the end, Lucius cradled Voldemort's head in his lap because Lucius was in shock over the fact that he had actually killed his lord. After killing Voldemort, Lucius forgets in the next moment why he killed him in the first place. Lucius's mind is just completely screwed up in this chapter; that pretty much explains everything, LOL. **

**Additional Author's Note: To clarify the question anyone may have regarding Harry, in this AU Voldemort did not send anyone to confirm Harry's death. Voldemort just used the Cruciatus Curse, and when Harry (who had been expecting this, just like he had in the book) didn't react, Voldemort was convinced that Harry was indeed dead this time around.**


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